THE DELHI RESTRICTION OF USES OF LAND ACT, 1941 

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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 

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SECTIONS 

1.  Short title, extent and commencement. 
2.  Definitions. 
3.  Declaration of controlled area. 
4.  Plans of controlled areas to be deposited at certain offices.  
5.  Restrictions on building, etc., in a controlled area. 
6.  Application for permission to build, etc., and the grant or refusal of such permission. 
7.  Right of appeal. 
8.  Compensation. 
9.  Compulsory acquisition. 
10.  Amount of compensation how determined. 
11.  Saving for other enactments. 
12.  Prohibition of use of any land as a brick-field, etc., without a licence. 
13.  Offences and penalties. 
14.  Trial of offences. 
15.  Protection of persons acting under this Act. 
16.  Savings. 
17.  Power to make rules. 

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THE DELHI RESTRICTION OF USES OF LAND ACT, 1941 

ACT NO. 12 OF 1941 

[8th April, 1941.] 

An  Act  to  regulate  in  the  Province  of  Delhi  the  use  of  land  for  purposes  other  than 

agricultural purposes. 

WHEREAS it is expedient to regulate in the Province of Delhi the use of land for purposes 

other than agricultural purposes ; 

It is hereby enacted as follows :— 

1.  Short  title,  extent  and  commencement.—(1)  This  Act  may  be  called  the  Delhi 

Restriction of Uses of Land Act, 1941. 

(2)  It extends to the 1[Union territory of Delhi.] 

(3) It shall come into force on such date2 as the Central Government may, by notification 

in the Official Gazette, appoint. 

2.  Definitions.—In  this  Act,  unless  there  is  anything  repugnant  in  the  subject  or 

context,— 

(1) “agriculture” includes horticulture and the planting and upkeep of orchards ; 

(2)  “building”  has  the  same  meaning  as  in  clause  (2)  of  section  3  of  the  Punjab 

Municipal Act, 1911( Punj. Act III of 1911); 

(3) “Chief Commissioner” means the Chief Commissioner of Delhi; 

(4) “Deputy Commissioner” means  the Deputy Commissioner of Delhi and includes 
any authority, not being an officer employed by the Delhi Improvement Trust, appointed 
by the Chief Commissioner, by notification in the Official Gazette, to perform all or any 
of the functions of the Deputy Commissioner under this Act ; 

(5) “place of worship” includes an imambara, dargah, karbala or takya; 

1. Subs. by the A.O. 1956, for “State of Delhi”. 
2. The 28th June, 1941, See Gazette of India, 1941, Pt. I, p. I.  

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(6) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act; 

(7) “road” means a metalled road maintained by the Central Government or by a local 

authority; and  

(8)  the  expression  “to  erect  or  re-erect”  in  relation  to  any  building  has  the  same 

meaning  as 
(Punj. Act III of 1911). 

in  clause  (5)  of  section  3  of  the  Punjab  Municipal  Act,  1911                                          

3. Declaration of controlled area.—(1) The Chief Commissioner may, with the previous 
sanction of the Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare any land 
adjacent to and within a distance of four hundred and forty yards from the centre line of any 
road to be a controlled area for the purposes of this Act. 

(2)  Not  less  than  three  months  before  making  a  declaration  under  sub-section  (1)  the 
Chief  Commissioner  shall  cause  to  be  published  in  the  Official  Gazette  and  in  at  least  two 
newspapers printed in a language other than English a notification stating that he proposes, 
with  the  previous  sanction  of  the  Central  Government,  to  make  such  a  declaration  and 
specifying therein the boundaries of the land in respect of which the declaration is proposed 
to  be  made,  and  copies  of  every  such  notification  or  of  the  substance  thereof  shall  be 
published by the Deputy Commissioner in  such manner as he thinks fit at his  office and in 
every revenue estate of which any part is included within the said boundaries. 

(3)  Any  person  interested  in  any  land  included  within  the  said  boundaries  may,  at  any 
time  before  the  expiration  of  thirty  days  from  the  last  date  on  which  a  copy  of  such 
notification is published by the Deputy Commissioner, object to the making of the declaration 
or to the inclusion of his land or any part of it within the said boundaries. 

(4) Every objection under sub-section (3) shall be made to the Deputy Commissioner in 
writing, and the Deputy Commissioner shall give to every person so objecting an opportunity 
of  being  heard  either  in  person  or  by  pleader,  and  shall  after  all  such  objections  have  been 
heard    and  after  such  further  enquiry,  if  any,  as  he  thinks  necessary,  forward  to  the  Chief 
Commissioner the record of the proceedings held by him together with a report setting forth 
his recommendations on the objections. 

(5)  If  before  the  expiration  of  the  time  allowed  by  sub-section  (3)  for  the  filing  of 
objections no objection has been made, the Chief Commissioner may proceed at once to the 
making  of  a  declaration  under  sub-section  (1).  If  any  such  objections  have  been  made,  the 

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Chief Commissioner shall consider the record and the report referred to in sub-section (4) and 
shall hear any parties applying to be heard and may either— 

(a) abandon the proposal to make a declaration under sub-section (1), or 

(b) make such a declaration in respect of either the whole or a part or parts of the land  

included within the boundaries specified in the notification under sub-section (2). 

(6) For the purposes of sub-section (3) a person shall be deemed to be interested in land if 

he  is  “person  interested”  as  defined  in  clause  (b)  of  section  3  of  the  Land  Acquisition                    
Act, 1894 (1 of 1894), for the purposes of that Act or, where the land is land occupied by or 
for the purposes of a mosque, imambara, dargah, karbala, takya or Muslim graveyard, if he 
is a Muslim. 

(7)  A  declaration  made  under  sub-section  (1)  shall,  unless  and  until  it  is  withdrawn,  be 

conclusive evidence of the fact that the area to which it relates is a controlled area. 

4.  Plans  of  controlled  areas  to  be  deposited  at  certain  offices.  —(1)  The  Deputy 

Commissioner  shall  deposit  at  his  office  and  at  the  office  of  the  Municipal  Committee,            
New  Delhi,  and  at  such  other  places  as  he  considers  necessary,  plans  showing  all  lands 
declared to be controlled areas for the purposes of this Act, and setting forth the nature of the 
restrictions applicable to the land in any such controlled area. 

(2) The plans so deposited shall be available for inspection by the public free of charge at 

all reasonable times. 

5.  Restrictions  on  building,  etc.,  in  a  controlled  area.—  No  person  shall  erect  or  re-
erect  any  building,  or  make  or  extend  any  excavation,  or  lay  out  any  means  of  access  to  a 
road in a controlled area except with the previous permission of the Deputy Commissioner in 
writing. 

6.  Application  for  permission  to  build,  etc.,  and  the  grant  or  refusal  of  such 
permission.—(1) Every person desiring to obtain the permission referred to in section 5 shall 
make an application in writing to the Deputy Commissioner in such from and containing such 
information in respect of the building, excavation or means of access to which the application 
relates as may be prescribed. 

(2) On receipt of such application the Deputy Commissioner, after making such enquiry 

as he considers necessary, shall, by order in writing, either— 

(a) grant the permission, subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the 

order; or 

(b) refuse to grant such permission. 

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(3)  When  the  Deputy  Commissioner  grants  permission  subject  to  conditions  under             

clause (a) of sub-section (2) or refuses to grant permission under clause (b) of sub-section (2), 
the  conditions  imposed  or  the  grounds  of  refusal  shall  be  such  as  are  reasonable  having 
regard to the circumstances of each case. 

(4) The Deputy Commissioner shall not refuse permission to the erection or re-erection of 
a building, not being a dwelling house, if such building is required for purposes subservient 
to agriculture, nor shall the permission to erect or re-erect any such building be made subject 
to any conditions other than those which may be necessary to ensure that the building will be 
used solely for the purposes specified in the application for permission. 

(5) The Deputy Commissioner shall not refuse permission to the erection or re-erection of 
a building which was in existence on the date on which the declaration under sub-section (1) 
of  section  3  was  made,  nor  shall  he  impose  any  conditions  in  respect  of  such  erection  or       
re-erection unless it involves the addition of one or more storeys to building or the extension 
of the plinth  area of the building by more than one-eight of the original plinth area, or there 
is a probability that the building will be used for a purpose other than for which it was used 
on the date on which the said declaration was made. 

(6) If at the expiration of a period of three months after an application under sub-section 
(1) has been made to the Deputy Commissioner no order in writing has been passed by the 
Deputy Commissioner permission shall be deemed to have been given without the imposition 
of any conditions. 

(7) The Deputy Commissioner shall maintain a register with  sufficient  particulars of all 
permissions given by him under this section and the register shall be available for inspection 
without  charge  by  all  persons  interested  and  such  persons  shall  be  entitled  to  take  extracts 
therefrom. 

7. Right of appeal.— (1) Any person aggrieved by an order of the Deputy Commissioner 
under  sub-section  (2)  of  section  6  granting  permission  subject  to  conditions  or  refusing 
permission  may  within  thirty  days  from  the  date  of  such  order  prefer  an  appeal  to  the              
Chief Commissioner. 

(2) The order of the Chief Commissioner on appeal shall be final. 

8. Compensation.—(1) No person shall be entitled to claim compensation under this or 
any  other  act  for  any  injury,  damage  or  loss  caused  or  alleged  to  have  been  caused  by  an 
order— 

(a) refusing permission to make or extend an excavation, or granting such permission 

but imposing conditions on the grant, or 

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 (b)  refusing  permission  to  lay  out  a  means  of  access  to  a  road,  or  granting  such 

permission but imposing conditions on the grant, or 

(c) granting permission to erect or re-erect a building but imposing conditions on the 

grant. 

(2) When an order has been made refusing permission to erect or re-erect a building any 
person  who  has  exercised  the  right  of  appeal  given  by  sub-section  (1)  of  section  7  may, 
within  three  months  of  the  date  of  the  order  of  the  Chief  Commissioner,  make  to  the                                   
Chief  Commissioner  a  claim  for  compensation  on  the  ground  that  his  interest  in  the  land 
concerned is injuriously affected by the said order: 

Provided that no claim for compensation may be made under this sub-section in respect of 
any land situated in a controlled area adjoining a road which has been constructed after the 
commencement  of  this  Act  or  which  was  not  at  the  commencement  of  this  Act  or  a  road 
within the meaning of clause 1[(7)] of section 2.  

(3)  On  receipt  of  a  claim  under  sub-section  (2)  the  Chief  Commissioner  shall  either 
proceed to acquire the land concerned under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (1 of 1894), or 
transfer  the  claim  for  disposal  to  an  officer  exercising  the  powers  of  a  Collector  under  the 
said Act: 

Provided  that  in  case  the  Chief  Commissioner  decides  to  acquire  the  land,  the  claimant 
shall be entitled to be repaid by the acquiring authority the amount of expense which he may 
have  properly  incurred  in  connection  with  the  preparation  and  submission  of  his  claim  for 
compensation  under  this  section,  and  in  default  of  agreement  such  amount  shall  be 
determined  by  the  authority  deciding  the  value  of  the  land  in  the  proceedings  under  Land 
Acquisition Act, 1894. 

(4)  Nothing  in  this  section  shall  be  deemed  to  preclude  the  settlement  of  a  claim  by 

mutual agreement. 

9.  Compulsory  acquisition.—If  the  Chief  Commissioner  decides  to  acquire  the  land 

under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (1 of 1894) then, notwithstanding anything contained                 
in that  Act, — 

(i) proceedings under section 5A of that Act shall not be required ; 

(ii) the notification under section 6 of that Act shall be published within six months 
from the date of institution of the claim, failing which the claim shall be transferred for 
disposal to an officer  exercising the powers of a collector under that Act ; 

1. Subs. by Act of 25 of 1942, s. 3 and the Second Schedule. 

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(iii)    the  market  value  of  the  land  shall  be  assessed  as  though  no  declaration  under     

section 3 (1) had been made in respect of the area in which it is situated and no restrictions 
upon  its  use  and  development  had  been  imposed,  any  compensation  already  paid  to  the 
claimant or to any of his predecessors in interest for injurious affection being deducted from 
the market value as so assessed. 

10.  Amount  of  compensation  how  determined.—(1)  when  a  claim  is  transferred  for 
disposal under section 8 or section 9 to an officer exercising the powers of a Collector under 
the  Land  Acquisition Act,  1894 (1 of 1894), such officer shall make an  award determining 
the amount of compensation, if any, payable to the claimant. 

(2) the amount of compensation awarded under sub-section (1) shall in no case exceed— 

(a)  the  amount  that  would  have  been  payable  if  the  land  had  been  acquired  under     

section 9; or 

(b) the difference between the market value of the land in its existing condition having 
regard  to  the  restrictions  actually  imposed  upon  its  use  and  development  by  the  order 
refusing  permission  to  erect  or  re-erect  a  building  thereon,  and  its  market  value 
immediately before the publication under sub-section (2) of section 3 of the notification 
in pursuance of which the area in which it is situated was declared to be a controlled area, 

and no compensation shall be awarded under sub-section (1)— 

(i)  unless  the  claimant  satisfies  the  officer  making  the  award  that  proposals  for  the 
development  of  the  land  which  at  the  date  of  the  application  under  sub-section  (1)  of 
section  6  are  immediately  practicable,  or  would  have  been  so,  if  this  Act  had  not  been 
passed, are prevented or injuriously affected by the restrictions imposed under this Act, or 

(ii) if and in so far as the land is subject to substantially  similar restrictions in force 
under some other enactment which were so in force at the date when the restrictions were 
imposed under the Act, or      

(iii)  if  compensation  in  respect  of  the  same  restriction  in  force  under  this  Act  or  of 
substantially  similar  restrictions  in  force  under  some  other  enactment  has  already  been 
paid in respect of the land to the claimant or to any predecessor in interest of the claimant. 

(3)  The  provisions  of  Parts  III,  IV,  V  and  VIII  of  the  Land  Acquisition                          

Act, 1894 (1 of 1894), shall so far as may be apply to an award made under sub-section 
(1) as though it were an award made under that Act. 

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11.  Saving  for  other  enactments.—  Nothing  in  this  Act  shall  affect  the  power  of  any 
authority  to  acquire  land  or  to  impose  restrictions  upon  the  use  and  development  of  land 
under any other enactment for the time being in force. 

12. Prohibition of use of any land as a brick-field, etc., without a licence.— (1)  No 
land  within  a  controlled  area  shall  be  used  for  the  purposes  without  of  a  charcoal-kiln, 
pottery-kiln or lime-kiln and no land either within or outside a controlled area shall be used 
for  the  purposes  of  a  brick-field  or  brick-kiln  except  under,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
conditions of, a licence from the Chief Commissioner which shall be renewable annually.  

(2)  The  Chief  Commissioner  may  charge  such  fees  for  the  grant  and  renewal  of  such 

licences and may impose such conditions in respect thereof as may be prescribed.  

(3) No person shall be entitled to claim compensation under this or any other Act for any 
injury, damage or loss caused or alleged to have been caused by the refusal of a licence under 
sub-section (1). 

13. Offences and penalties.—(1) Any person who— 

(a) erects or re-erects any building or makes or extends any excavation or lays out any 
means  of  access  to  a  road  in  contravention  of  the  provisions  of  section  5  or  in 
contravention of any conditions imposed by an order under section 6 or section 7, or 

(b) uses any land in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 12,  

shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees and, in the case of a 
continuing contravention, with a further fine which may extend to fifty rupees for every day 
after  the  date  of  the  first  conviction  during  which  he  is  proved  to  have  persisted  in  the 
contravention. 

(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1), the Deputy Commissioner may 
order  any  person  who  has  committed  a  breach  of  the  provisions  of  the  said  sub-section  to 
restore to its original state or to bring into conformity with the conditions which have been 
violated, as the case may be, any building or land in respect of which a contravention such as 
is  described  in  the  said  sub-section  has  been  committed,  and  if  such  person  fails  to  do  so 
within three months of the order may himself take such measures as may appear to him to be 
necessary to give effect to the order, and the cost of such measures shall be recoverable from 
such  person as an arrear of land-revenue. 

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14. Trial of offences.—No Court inferior to that of a Magistrate of the first class shall 

try any offence punishable under this Act. 

15.  Protection  of  persons  acting  under  this  Act.—No  suit,  prosecution  or  other 
legal proceedings shall lie against any person for anything which is in good faith done or 
intended to be done under this Act. 

16. Savings.—Nothing in this Act shall apply to— 

(a) the erection or re-erection of buildings upon land included in the inhabited site of 

any village as defined in the revenue records ; 

(b) the erection or re-erection of a place of worship or a tomb or cenotaph or of a wall 
enclosing  a  graveyard,  place  of  worship,  cenotaph  or  samadhi  on  land  which  is  at  the  
time  a  notification  under  sub-section  (2)  of  section  3 
Chief  Commissioner  occupied  by  or  for  the  purposes  of  such  place  of  worship,  tomb, 
Samadhi, cenotaph or graveyard ; 

is  published  by 

the                         

(c)  excavations  (including  wells)  made  in  the  ordinary  course  of  agricultural 

operations ; 

(d) the construction of an unmetalled road intended to give access to land solely for 

agricultural purposes. 

17. Power to make rules.—(1) The Chief Commissioner may make rules to carry out 

the purposes of this Act. 

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power such 

rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely : — 

(a) the form in which applications under sub-section (1) of section 6 shall be made 

and the information to be furnished in such applications ; 

(b) the regulation of the laying out of means of access to roads ; 

(c) the fees to be charged for the  grant and renewal of licences under section  12 

and the conditions governing such licences. 

(3)  All  rules  made  under  this  section  shall  be  subject  to  the  condition  of  previous 
publication,  which  publication  shall  be  made  in  the  Official  Gazette  and  in  at  least  two 
newspapers printed in a language other than English; and the date to be specified under 
clause (3) of section 23 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 (10 of 1897) shall not be less 
than two months from the date on which the draft of the proposed rules was published. 

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